Liners having particular colors, hues, tints and the like are desired for many appliance-related applications, such as refrigeration appliances. As appliance designers have recently placed more emphasis on interior design and lighting (e.g., given the lower energy usage of light-emitting diode (LED) sources), the importance of interior aesthetics has increased for many consumers. Similarly, appliance manufacturers often emphasize aesthetics, including through interior design approaches, in attempting to obtain brand differentiation from their competitors.
Liners employed in appliances, including refrigeration appliances, are often produced with extrusion processes. As these liners often are fabricated from two or more layers, conventional approaches to adding color to these liners often involve adding pigments to each extruder employed in making a layer employed in the liner. As pigments are added to multiple extruders, the complexity, repeatability and manufacturing cost of matching colors increases significantly for a liner that comprises two or more layers having pigments. Further, as significant loadings of pigments in these multi-layer liners are often employed, down-stream processes, e.g., thermo-forming, to incorporate the liners into an end product can lead to local discoloration and yield losses. Further, multiple and cost-intensive extrusion runs are often required to fabricate a liner having multiple, extruded layers with pigments that matches a particular desired color, tint or hue. Still further, these approaches for making a liner having multiple, extruded pigmented layers require one or more adhesives to bond the layers, which increases cost and can decrease manufacturing yield.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods of making liners, particularly pigmented liners for refrigeration appliances, which are repeatable, with high manufacturing flexibility, and low in cost. There is also a need for pigmented liners that do not require or otherwise employ internal adhesives, have a high reliability and can be configured according to various design aesthetics.